Starts very strong, dropping us straight in with an intriguing main character (Jules, though she gives her name as Imogen) with a mysterious and cinematic back story, lots of questions that you want answers to, and some breakneck action into the bargain. And largely sustains it for the first half of the book, as things get darker and it becomes clearer that Jules is thoroughly unreliable - Lockhart is a really effective, confident story-teller, excellent at keeping things moving quickly forward while layering in details of character and doubt.
But, as cleverly as it's set up (and the backwards-moving structure is crafty and sustained), the excitement and intrigue slowed considerably for me from the point when I picked up the first very clearly signposted Talented Mr Ripley reference, the scene on the boat (there were probably others earlier, but it's been a while since I read the book or saw the film), and guessed the rest of where it was going - in reverse - which turned out to indeed be where it went.
(also by Lockhart; both stronger than this one: We Were Liars, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks)
But, as cleverly as it's set up (and the backwards-moving structure is crafty and sustained), the excitement and intrigue slowed considerably for me from the point when I picked up the first very clearly signposted Talented Mr Ripley reference, the scene on the boat (there were probably others earlier, but it's been a while since I read the book or saw the film), and guessed the rest of where it was going - in reverse - which turned out to indeed be where it went.
(also by Lockhart; both stronger than this one: We Were Liars, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks)
